We started the day with a continental breakfast provided by the hosting AOC districts. Then we drove about twelve miles to Kirby, WY where we toured the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery. The distillery was founded in 2006 with its first bottling in 2009. The bourbon had a flavor like non I had ever tasted, so I bought a bottle. Too bad it's only available in Wyoming.
After the tour and tasting, we went down the street to Butch's where we had lunch. Great burgers, both beef and buffalo.
At 5:00, still full from lunch, we went to the Old West Historical Museum in downtown Thermopolis. There is really a lot of history here. A ribs and chicken dinner was served in the museum at 6:30. Not many pictures from the museum because of photography rules.
It was bright and sunny until mid afternoon when it turned cloudy and cool with drizzling rain. We got back from the museum about 7:30 and, after a bit of socializing, retreated to the camper for the night.
Got up this morning to a drizzling rain. I decided it would be a good thing to check my bearing installation and try to find a replacement for the grease cap we lost along the highway. Jim and I jumped in the car about 8:00 (yes, I was up, showered and ate breakfast by then) and found all the stuff I needed, including the grease caps and an extra tube of Lucas Red and Tacky II grease!
We got back to the campground and, with the help of Gail, we checked both wheel bearings for tightness, installed the replacement grease cap, and regreased both sets of bearings. Soon, the sun was shining and things were looking up.
Jim, formerly of Springfield, now from Colorado Springs, brought some venison, so we put it on the Cobb Grill while the rest of the rally was eating brats. I think we had the better meal!
After dinner, we did the dishes and took some tome to visit before retiring to the camper. It wasn't a very eventful day, but at least, I finished up all of my repairs If the weather cooperates, we're going exploring tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Got up this morning and headed for Thermopolis. It's only 240 miles. We'll be there in the early afternoon. WRONG! About 25 miles from Tensleep, WY, after going over the Bighorn Mountains, we thought we heard a growling noise coming from the rear. It seemed that when the road surface changed, the noise would stop. Finally, I pulled over to the side of the road and felt the wheel hubs on the trailer. Cool as a cucumber!
We stopped at a gas station in Tensleep. When I looked at the left trailer wheel, I could hardly tell what color it was because it was covered with grease! Two and a half hours later, I had changed the wheel bearings and seal.
We got in the car, turned the key - click, click, click, click. I had forgotten to unplug the trailer from the car and the fridge had drained the battery. After a local guy gave us a jump, we were on the road without the grease cap which had jettisoned itself somewhere east of Tensleep.
So, we got to the rally in Thermopolis at 6:20pm. We arrived to a cheering crowd that had saved us some pizza. A friend even gave me one of his spare grease caps. Life is good!
So that's pretty much the story of our day. See below for some pictures I took along the way.
It's only about 320 miles from Hill City to Thermopolis and the AOC Rally starts on Thursday, so we took a little side trip to Devils Tower. We were there once, years ago, but didn't actually go into the park. Now that we have a Geezer Pass and admission is free, we thought we'd check it out. We did the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the tower, so you'll see it from all angles. I think the pictures tell the story.
We left the park around 3:00, so we didn't want to drive very far before camping for the night. We ended up in Keyhole State Park near Moorcroft in northeastern Wyoming. The campground is on the shores of Keyhole Reservoir, a pretty good sized lake. Nice spot.
It's only 240 miles from here to Thermopolis, so I plan to sleep in a bit before we hit the road.
